Raden Saleh, born into a noble Javanese family in 1807, became
a pioneer of modern Indonesian art. Although he was the first
Indonesian artist to paint in the Western style, the fact that he
expressed individuality and creativity in his work (as opposed to the
traditional approach which stressed the reproduction of established
forms and styles) showed the way for future Indonesian artists to
express their own ideas more freely.

The young Raden Saleh was first taught, in Bogor, by the
Belgium artist A.A.J. Payen. Payen recognised the young man's talent,
and persuaded the Dutch colonial government to send Raden Saleh to
the Netherlands to study art.

He arrived in Europe in 1829 and began studying under Cornelius
Kruseman and Andries Schelfhout. It was from Kruseman that Raden
Saleh learned his skills as a portraitist, and later was received at
various European courts where he was commissioned mainly to do
portraits. From 1839, he spent five years at the court of Ernst I, Grand
Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who became an important patron. From
Schelfhout, Raden Saleh learned the skills of a landscape artist.

Raden Saleh visited several European cities, as well as Algiers.
While in the Hague, a lion tamer allowed Raden Saleh to study his
lions, and subsequently wild animal scenes brought the artist great
fame. Many of his paintings were exhibited in the Rijksmuseum in
Amsterdam. Over 50 years after his death, a number of the
compositions created in this period were destroyed in a fire in the
Dutch Colonial Pavilion in Paris, in 1931.

The artist returned to Indonesia in 1851, having lived in Europe
for 20 years. Here, he worked as a conservator for the art collection
of the colonial government. He continued to paint, producing
portraits of Javanese aristocrats, and many landscapes. He died in
1880, after returning from a second stay in Europe.

One of Raden Saleh's most poignant creations is 'The Capture of
Prince Diponegoro' which was returned to Indonesia from the Royal
Palace of the Netherlands in 1978. It now hangs in the Presidential
Palace Museum in Jakarta. In the painting, Raden Saleh deliberately
made the heads of the Dutch big, a reference to their pomposity and
arrogance, and also to make them 'laughable' figures in comparison
with the well-balanced figures of the Indonesians.

It is believed that the Javanese man covering his face with his hands,
standing behind Diponegoro, and the Javanese man standing with his
head bowed in the crowd at the bottom of the stairs, are both
self-portraits.

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